


hero

by mabufus



Category: Persona 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2015-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 07:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4555800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mabufus/pseuds/mabufus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Sometimes I just wonder...why me...Why was I chosen to have a persona?” Junpei closes his eyes and sighs. “I'm sorry, senpai. This is so stupid.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	hero

**Author's Note:**

> protect junpei iori 2k15

It doesn't make a lot of sense, Junpei thinks, as to why he was one of the 'chosen ones' to _literally_ save the world. He's not strong, or smart, and on his best day, he's only like an 8.6 out of 10.

Junpei never voices this concern of his, even in Tartarus, where his heroic duties matter the most.

The days he tires easily from combat take a toll on him, both physically and mentally. He thinks of asking Akihiko to help him train, but the thought of having to down a bunch of protein shakes and do four (yes _four_ ) strenuous training sessions a day seems more of a death wish than helpful, so he keeps quiet.

It's when he gets numerous bruises from fighting in Tartarus that Junpei truly feels powerful. He often gets strange looks from Yukari on those days, because he's grinning from ear to ear, admiring the gauze that covers his arms, and the band-aids that cover his face.

Being found while sobbing in the Dark Hour was _quite_ embarrassing and thinking about it made him want to transform into a coffin right then and there. _This_ was the guy who they wanted to help save the world? _He's_ supposed to be a hero?

On days when he's really quiet, some of the members of SEES start to notice. Aigis, while genuinely trying to be helpful, usually causes a scene by shouting, “Junpei-san, are you okay? You seem down. You do not seem to have a fever, though.” Half the residents of the dorm come downstairs, their faces full of confusion, Aigis as well, when Junpei just shakes his head and sighs.

The only one who gets Junpei to talk is Akihiko, and that's only after he jokingly (or so Junpei hopes) threatens to beat it out of him. The tone was joking, but his face is always too serious.

The two sit in Junpei's room for only a couple of minutes, before Akihiko almost dies of the smell, and they move to his room. Junpei wishes that it was just _over_ , and that Akihiko would stop staring at him so intensely.

He's jolted out of his thoughts when Akihiko grabs his shoulders and says, “So am I _really_ going to have to beat it out of you?”

“You should really stop saying that, Akihiko-senpai,” Junpei says with a nervous laugh.

“ _Iori_.”

Junpei sighs. “Okay, okay, fine. I'll tell ya. You can't tell anyone though, okay? Telling you about is embarrassing enough, you're not really suited to be a therapist.”

“Good answer,” Akihiko says, and then he quickly adds, “I'll ignore that last part, though.”

He's sure that he's visibly uncomfortable, and he changes his sitting position about five times before he finally starts to speak.

“Sometimes I just wonder... _why me_...Why was _I_ chosen to have a persona?” Junpei closes his eyes and sighs. “I'm sorry, senpai. This is so stupid.”

“Keep going.”

Junpei's eyes pop open. “Huh? Whaddya mean 'keep going'? That's kinda...y'know... _it_.”

“Tell me why you think that,” Akihiko says. “There's got to be a specific reason for that line of thinking, right?”

Junpei is taken aback by how stern his tone is.

“I'm not very smart,” Junpei starts. He looks around Akihiko's room, slowly looking at all the trophies in his room. There were a _lot_.

“I'm not very strong either,” he continues on. “I pretend that I am, but I'm not. You know what I mean. You were the one who found me...sobbing like a little baby. How is that guy, _me_ , supposed to help save the world?”

Akihiko rests his hands across his lap. “You really are stupid.” he says.

“Ouch...That really hurts, ya know?”

“It doesn't matter if I found you crying your eyes out. It doesn't matter that you were cowering. That's the past you, Junpei. You're nothing like that guy, now. All that matters now is the present you. You're strong, daring, sarcastic, caring, a bit of an ass sometimes, but you've grown. You can't see it, but you have. You're more mature, too. Sometimes. You're...you... _you da man, Junpei_...”

Junpei had never seen anyone's face grow so red so fast before in his life. He pinched himself a couple of times to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and lo and behold, he _wasn't._ Akihiko said that he was _'da man'._

“Holy shit Akihiko-sen–” he starts to say, but is cut off shortly.

“ _Shut up, Iori_. _Don't tell anyone about that ever_.”

“Understood.” Junpei mutters in a robotic voice, mimicking Aigis.

“I'm being serious, though. You are an important member of SEES. We would be incomplete without you. We'll do whatever we can to make sure you remember that.” Akihiko slowly raises a fist, and grins. “And it's okay to be scared. Every single one of us is in the same position you are. We're scared out of our wits too, you know? Junpei, you have a persona because you have the potential to save this world. Do your best, and know that you are not alone. We'll always be standing by you. We care about you. We're all a family.”

The two sit there awkwardly, Akihiko's face still red, and Junpei still slightly pinching himself. The aroma of protein powder filled the room, and the smell was starting to make Junpei a little queasy.

“Am I allowed to talk yet?” Junpei asks warily.

Akihiko chuckles. “Yeah.”

Junpei grins at his senpai. “ _Holy crap_.Thank you, Akihiko-senpai. All of that really meant a lot to me. Like. _A lot_. I don't really know what to say to be honest, other than thank you...”

“You don't really have to,” Akihiko says. He pats the junior on the shoulder. “You just have to believe in yourself, okay? Can you do that?”

“I can. But, there's actually something I thought about that I'd like to bring up.”

“Did I say something wrong? I'm not the best at giving pep talks.”

Junpei waves his hand. “Nah, the speech was _totally_ awesome. Made me wanna cry a little bit. If you look at me really close, you can actually see a little manly Junpei tear. But, uh, when you said all those nice things about me, you didn't say I was smart! I feel like you're obligated to say that, seeing as we are friends as well as comrades, y'know?”

“I've seen your grades, Iori.”

“Right.” Junpei says back, lowering his head. “I also forgot you were there when I got chewed out by Mitsuru-senpai.” he sighs. “Y'know, you guys totally could've waited until we got back to the dorm for that. Everyone at school was staring at me! Getting yelled at by the student council president _sucks_.”

“Get better grades if you don't want her to yell at you. I learned that the hard way.”

“I'll do my best.” Junpei replies. “In everything; Tartarus, school, girls. Y'know. The _important_ things.”

“Right. Have a protein shake while you're at it. I have some right here if you–”

“Nope nope nope.” Junpei says, and runs out of Akihiko's room. “Thanks for the pep talk! Gotta run!”

“ _Get your grades up, Iori!_ ” Akihiko yells after him.


End file.
